It was another successful yearling sale for Claiborne stallions in mid-September with buyers happy to add a new generation of future stars to their stable at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
BLAME’s strong Book 2 continued into the second week of selling, led by a $385,000 filly purchased by Shepherd Equine Advisers for Larry Hirsch.
Offered by Woods Edge Farm, the filly received multiple updates over the Summer when her dam Speightlass’s stakes winning full sister Quick Flip added two stakes performers to her produce record. Already the dam of stakes-placed Inspeightof, Quick Flip’s 3-year-old RUNHAPPY son Follow Sea finished second in the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) and third in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1). The mare also proved precociousness runs in the family when her juvenile daughter Gimmick was third in the Sorority Stakes.
The yearling’s dam has produced winners from three to race with those two half-siblings to this yearling the winner of a combined 10 races. Speightlass herself is a sibling to three stakes winners as well.
BLAME’s second highest price horse during the second week was a $160,000 purchase by Triad Thoroughbreds from the Crestwood Farm consignment.
The colt is out of the proven broodmare Bayou Tortuga, who has four winners from six to race. Among those four are the UAE Oaks (G3) winning duo of Polar River and Down on Da Bayou. They are joined in the blacktype club by their Grade 3-placed half-brother Rare Form. Bayou Tortuga is also a sibling to stakes winners with her stakes-placed dam Tortuga Band producing three stakes winners from six to win overall.
FIRST SAMURAI saw Jonathan Thomas purchase Hip 885 for $140,000 during Book 2 to lead his offerings.
Offered by Stone Farm, the filly is bred on a cross that is proven to work – she’s a full sister to FIRST SAMURAI’s Grade 2 winner Plum Ali. The pair are out of the young Stroll mare Skipping, who is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner and multiple Grade 2-placed Meribel and stakes winner Knox.
Plum Ali has proven to be a competitive racehorse with top three finishes in five of her nine career starts for $585,500 in earnings with most of her races coming at the graded stakes level.
Greg Foley took home a colt bred on another proven cross when he bought the full brother to FIRST SAMURAI’s Grade 3 winner Cutting Humor from the Claiborne consignment for $100,000.
In addition to Cutting Humor, the yearling is a half-brother to stakes winner and Grade 2-placed Irish You Well and LEA’s multiple winner Coworth Park. Their Pulpit dam is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Zensational with the colt descending from successful broodmare Tour. The family includes Grade 1 winners Bolt d’Oro, Global Campaign, and others.
FLATTER was in high demand at the Keeneland September sale with 13 of his 22 sold bringing six figures.
West Bloodstock struck on a $550,000 colt for Repole Stable and St. Elias to lead the charge.
Consigned by Indian Creek, the colt is the third out of Grade 3-placed Margaret Reay. That mare’s first is a winner and her juvenile was placed after the catalog was released. Margaret Reay is a half-sister to stakes winner Lezendary and stakes placed Cessnow. There are stakes performers under two of the three dams listed on the page with the colt’s third dam the granddam of Grade 1 winner Wonder Lady Anne L.
The second most expensive for FLATTER was also his most expensive filly when Lauren Carlisle went to $325,000 for Hip 1001.
Another offered by Indian Creek, the filly out of Cayala is a half-sister to two stakes performers in Grade 3 winner One Liner and stakes placed Roderick. A winner at three, Cayala has followed in the footsteps of the other two dams on the page with her stakes producing ways. A half-sister to a Grade 2-placed runner, Cayala is out of a half-sister to Grade 1 winners Albertus Maximus and Daredevil. Cayala’s granddam is also the granddam of stakes winner and Grade 2-placed Bodecream and Group 3-placed Califante.
FLATTER saw his 22 sold average $151,682 with a median of $127,500, led by the $550,000 Book 2 colt. In addition to the $325,000 filly, he also had a $325,000 colt in Book 1. CJ Thoroughbreds proved to be big fans of the stallion, buying two of his fillies for $150,000 each in the later books.
Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan bought the co-highest priced yearling by MASTERY at Keeneland September when he purchased a colt out of Tourist Trap from Penn Sales.
A half-brother to stakes-placed Taylor’s Tourist and winner Provost, the colt sees stakes performers under each of his dams named on the page. Tourist Trap is a half-sister to stakes-placed Cromwell and the dam of stakes-placed Dothat Dance, while their dam Rapping has stakes performing siblings as well.
Out of Grade 2 winner and Grade 1-placed Duty Dance, Rapping is a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Party Manners and is one of four stakes performers overall for her dam. One of those half-sisters is also the granddam of Group 1 winner Village King in addition to producing a stakes-placed runner while another half-sister produced Grade 3 winner Proceed Bee.
The Tourist Trap colt was joined by a Centennial Farms-purchased $190,000 colt out of Spring Street offered by Hunter Valley Farm in Book 2.
That colt’s half-siblings include stakes winner Plentiful. Spring Street herself is out of the Grade 3 winner and multiple Grade 1-placed Spring Meadow, who had another winner after the catalog was released. An international family, the colt also has Australian Group 3 winner and New Zealand stakes winner Platinum Kingdom under his third dam.
Other MASTERY offerings sold for $150,000, $135,000, etc., including a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Midnight Storm in Book 1.
A top juvenile sire this year, RUNHAPPY saw buyers eagerly adding his yearlings to their stables, led by a $260,000 filly in Book 4
Purchased by Shepherd Equine Advisers for Larry Hirsch, the Claiborne-offered filly is the third out of BLAME’s Spank, whose first to race is the winning FIRST SAMURAI daughter Lalia. Spank is a half-sister to the Grade 2 winner Just Jenda, whose juvenile granddaughter Miss Alacrity win the Colleen stakes after the catalog was released.
The page on this filly gets better and better with the many stakes winners under her third dam including Kentucky Derby (G1) winner and champion Nyquist and Grade 1 winner Sahara Sky.
A $160,000 RUNHAPPY filly signed for by Randy Bradshaw was the second most expensive for her sire when sold in Book 2 by Valkyre Stud.
A blue-blooded representative for RUNHAPPY, the filly is out of top broodmare Wilshewed. That mare’s best runner is Grade 1 winner Stormello but he is just the top of the stakes winning group for her. Wilshewed also produced Grade 2 winner My Best Brother Grade 3 winner Gala Award, and stakes winner and Grade 1-placed Cherry Lodge in addition to Grade 3-placed Greatest Game.
Wilshewed’s daughters Atlantic Voyage and Ever So Pretty were winners in their own right but then went on to go even better as broodmares. Atlantic Voyage is the dam of two-time champion Curlin’s Voyage and stakes-placed Brass Compass and Ever So Pretty is the dam of stakes-placed Barbarossa.
Other six figure yearlings for RUNHAPPY included a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Tix Miz Sue selling to George Sharp for $125,000 and Jim McIngvale continuing to support the stallion with a $105,000 colt.
The stallions’ solid results over the final four books of the sale followed on the heels of a Book 1 that saw WAR FRONT lead the way with a $1.2 million filly and $1 million colt. That duo became his 28th and 29th career seven figure yearling purchases.